Golf Dominates Field At Lafayette Invitational

It has been a season full of drama, turmoil, and emotion but on Saturday the AU Men's Golf team made a resounding statement with a commanding victory. Playing in their fifth tournament in six weeks the team dominated Lafayette Invitational, earning their first win of the season by six strokes with a team score of 595. The Eagles were the only squad in the 21-team field to shoot a team score under 600 and placed three golfers in the top 15 in the individual standings. Freshman Kevin Horan led the way for the team, firing a three-over 144 (72-72) en route to a second place overall individual finish. Horan, who had not competed for the Eagles yet this spring due to academic ineligibility, was granted temporary eligibility for this and the next tournament while the school weighs their decision concerning his overall eligibility After the tournament Horan said that it was his ability to practice with the team that allowed him to maintain his competitiveness while inactive. "I was able to play as an individual at the Diablo Grande tournament which helped me get the rust off," Horan said. "I know I'm playing well and I know I'm peaking at the right time so I used that inner-confidence to play well this week." Horan paced an Eagle team that carded team rounds of 297 and 298 over the two-day tournament, both the low rounds for any team in competition. In addition to Horan, freshman Alex Wenzel also played well as he held the lead at the end of the first day. Wenzel finished with a 146 (71-75, +5) which earned him fourth place in the overall standings. Sophomore Adam Kolloff who has played well for the team all season carded rounds of 77 and 73 to record a 150 (+9) and a 15th place individual finish. Sophomore Todd Shagin who carded a 156 (77-79, +15) and finished in a tie for 37th place said afterwards that the win was definitely a confidence builder. "We knew going in that we were the most talented team there," said Shagin. "All the freshman are playing well, Kevin and Alex played well at Lafayette and myself and Adam are trying to keep everybody focused and keep the intensity we have left." Freshman Billy Lacey rounded out the scoring for the team, carding a 165 (87-78, +24) to finish in a tie for 81st place. After the win, Head Coach Josh Cupp discussed what the win means to a team that has been through so much this season. "I think it's a confidence thing, we were out there in the practice round and the kids played great, not a super-hard course, a big thing is that they know they can win now," Cupp said. "That's huge, probably bigger in golf than any other sport, to win a tournament with 21 teams it means a lot for your confidence and that you can know you can beat those teams." Cupp added that he felt that the win meant a lot because the team saw it as a Patriot League tournament preview and played extremely well. The tournament's individual winner was Siena College's Bryan Bigley who shot a 142 (72-70, +1) to pick up the victory. Next up for the Eagles is the Bethany Beach Inviational which is played today. With such a short layover from one tournament to another, Cupp said that the team should be able to carry it's strong play to another strong showing. "The fact that our confidence is high right now is a huge thing," Cupp said. "We just beat a Bucknell team that was picked to win the PL in the pre-season and we beat them by 21 strokes so right now we've got good stuff." The Bethany Beach tournament is a warm-up for the Patriot League tournament which begins April 23 at the Bucknell University golf course. Last year the men finished in fifth place at the PL Tournament, losing to Army by 22 strokes. However, with different players and a new incentive, Cupp said that this year's team is ready to finally win that crown. "If we win the PL tournament we have a good chance of being put in the West regional of the NCAA tournament which is at Stanford this year and the guys would love to go there," said Cupp. "Running the table is possible and the other PL teams aren't that great, we make birdies and we have some pretty good players so I think we're in good shape"